Because It's Not Worth It
by CruddyFicsAreUs
Summary: Five people are brought together to fight and charm their way through the toils of being bounty hunters. And they've learned that fighting can be hard when no one has a clue about what's going on.
1. A Shifty Tavern Owner

To say that this group of travelers was a bit… eccentric, was absolutely an understatement. All had accepted the bounty mission that had been stuck lazily into the corkboard at the local tavern, and they were stuck together until they were able to successfully fulfill their mission.

The air around the group seemed relatively tense, as all members took each other's appearances in.

In the corner sat two elves, one male with a longsword tucked into his scabbard and long, auburn hair; the other was a female that sat cozied up to the bar, twirling her long, black hair around her finger and taking in the scene around her.

One figure sat perched on a stool closer to the entrance of the tavern, sporting an eye patch and seemingly pulsing muscles. His sword was leaned against the wall beside him, and he leaned against the wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

On the other side of the room sat a woman in religious robes, a scimitar delicately placed in her lap as she eyed the other patrons.

Finally, sitting at the middle of the bar was a girl that looked relatively young, around six years old, but was throwing back shots of whiskey like it was water. Her quarterstaff sat against the bar beside her, and she seemed to have no cares about the people that took seats around the tavern.

As the group broods in the darkened meeting place, the tavern owner, a man with tan skin and a mop of black hair on his head, returned to top off the young girl's drink and to address the crowd.

"I'm guessing you're all here for the bounty?"

The group nodded in agreement.

"Well, then let's get started. The town has been noticing some strange stuff, cow slaughters, disappearances. Now, I've been tipped off that a hunter was able to follow a blood trail close to a cavern far into the woods on the west side of town. However, that hunter, after sending his message to the mayor, disappeared too. The last part of his note said that he was going to explore the cavern and find a solution himself. Obviously, the solution didn't work. The sponsor is offering a thousand gold pieces in exchange for the death of the culprit. The mayor is in absolute shambles, and the village people are slowing evacuating, scared for their lives."

The male elf spoke first, "Is there any clue as to what it might be?"

The tavern owner smirked, "I could tell you, but that wouldn't be any fun, now, would it?"

Totally appalled, the group grumbled, the man with the eye patch gathering his things and heading for the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The man paused and turned towards the other man standing behind the bar.

"And why the hell wouldn't I? You're wasting my time."

The tavern owner produced a set of five contracts from beneath his counter.

"You've already signed a contract. Now, you either kill the creature or be killed, by either the creature, or the government."

With that, the owner gathered the contracts and returned to his home upstairs, completely unfazed by the terror that the group was trying to instill into him.

With gaping mouths, the group gathered in a little closer.

"He can't do this. That's totally unfair!"

"I mean, he did get our binding signatures."

"That was a signup sheet!"

"Well, there's nothing that we can do now."

The young girl finished her drink and slammed the glass against the ground.

"Well then let's just go and beat the shit out of that thing! We've got a clue about what's going on, and I'm sure if we just go investigate, things will reveal themselves." She said.

"I don't even know you're name, you've got no right to boss us around." The female elf voiced.

"You better treat your elders better!", the young girl griped back, "I'm Mizule, probably the oldest [erson you know."

The elf girl scoffed, "Sure, pipsqueak. Anyways, I'm Lilou."

The male elf politely butted in, "I'm Skody."

This was followed by the woman in robes, "My name is Van."

The group looked towards the silent man in an eyepatch.

"What about you?"

The fighter tossed a quick gaze at the group.

"Egan."

"We don't have to like each other, but we need to bear together long enough to just take care of this problem.", Van chimed in.

The group grumbled in agreement.

With much tension, and little patience, the group set off out west, hoping to take care of this problem quickly and quietly. Little did they know, that wasn't going to quite be the case.


	2. Backstories, And A Lot Of Them

"…And that's when she stopped breathing. Martha, I miss you so much.", Egan said in a melancholy fashion as he lifted his eye patch to wipe a tear.

"So, you stole half of their gold, quit the mercenary life to settle down, and they found you a week later? Damn, you're bad at hiding.", Mizule added as the man reached into his pocket to pull out a soft pink handkerchief with an 'M' embroidered into it. He delicately blew his nose, and Skody patted the man on the back, sending a glare at the girl.

"There's one left, the mercenaries. I'm going to kill him if it's the last thing I do. The only reason I came to this town was because I was following a lead. I only volunteered for this because the mercenary left town, as if someone had warned him I was coming, and I need money to make it to Eveltre."

The group stay quiet in mourning of Egan's wife when something suddenly burst forth from the brush in front of them. The loud screeching indicated that this creature, in fact, wasn't friendly.

The group retracted quickly, staring up at the creature that had just emerged from the thick forest in complete awe.

There, in front of them, was a dragon.

And it looked angry.

Preparing their weapons took the team no time, and they scrambled to figure out a plan of attack.

"Go for the eyes, they hate that shit", Mizule suggested.

"No, aim for the stomach!", Skody added.

"Guys, we just need to go, to run!", Liloue exclaimed.

Van took a fighting stance but nodded her head in agreement with Liloue, and Egan took his stance at the front of the group, holding his sword in front of him, ready to strike.

Skody, irritated at the group for not just agreeing with his tactics, drew his (plus seven) long sword and stormed the dragon, in an attempt to jab it in the stomach.

With a choir of shouts from the group to stop Skody, the elf became distracted, leaving time for the dragon to snatch Skody from his feet and into its mouth.

As the group began to attack the dragon to have their ally returned, the dragon flapped its great wings and fled in the direction that the group was walking.

Mizule stabbed her staff into the ground and sat down, "We're doomed. That's it. Skody's dead. I didn't bring liquor." She started fiddling with things on the ground.

"Now we know what we're tracking, at least." Van added as Egan raised his fist towards the direction of the dragon.

"I've already lost one person, I refuse to lose another ally.", he said, determination rushing to his eyes.

Liloue looked up at the sky. Through the trees, she saw a sliver of what was a sunset. "There's nothing we can do right now, how about we set up camp? We're nearly there, but we need our strength."

With no one in disagreement, the team began setting up their bedrolls, attempting to hang them between trees. On the ground, Mizule had started a fire, cooking some fish that Egan had caught with his hands in the river. As they gathered around the fire, Liloue asked Van why she had decided to tag along despite seeming like a religious nut.

The band of hunters gathered around the fire, eating their food as Van revealed her reasoning.

"I tagged along because I learned a long time ago that I must bring justice to the wickedness in the world with the powers that the Gods have blessed me with. I want to bring tranquility back to nature, as this town has been in a state of chaos for weeks now."

Egan nodded in response.

"That's really…beautiful", Liloue's eyes twinkled, "So what about you, Mizule?"

Mizule shrugged, "I'm doing it for the booze money."

Liloue peered down into her hands, looking at a picture, "I'm doing it for him."


End file.
